from Standardbred Canada

Mississauga, ON — Trot Insider has learned that caretaker Melinda Cochrane has sustained life-threatening injuries following an accident while working with horses on Tuesday (March 28) in Rockwood, Ont.

Cochrane was hand-walking a colicky horse when it shied away from something and she was kicked in the head. She suffered a fractured skull and has been in an induced coma.

Cochrane had surgery to alleviate swelling in her brain on Friday (March 31) and is in the ICU at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto.

A GoFundMe page has been set up by Cochrane’s cousins, Jason and Kirby McGinnis, to help cover some of the costs of Cochrane’s family flying into Toronto from Halifax for flights and hotels, and other immediate costs for Cochrane.

Cochrane has spent several years in Ontario working with riding horses and Standardbred racehorses. In the Standardbred industry, she has worked for David and Jason McGinnis, Paul MacKenzie, Patrick Shepherd and Jonah Moase.